{"id":3323,"date":"2026-06-09T12:36:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3323"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:36:31","slug":"english-rugby-official-resigns-after-discriminatory-post-about-womens-world-cup-winner-alphonsi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3323","title":{"rendered":"English rugby official resigns after discriminatory post about Women’s World Cup winner Alphonsi"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
FILE – England\u2019s Maggie Alphonsi, center, is tackled by a New Zealand player as she trys to grab the ball in the second half of the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup gold medal final at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton Alberta on Sept. 17, 2006. (Ian Jackson, The Canadian Press via AP, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

LONDON \u2014 A council member for England\u2019s Rugby Football Union has resigned after making discriminatory comments on social media about Maggie Alphonsi, a Women\u2019s World Cup-winning former England star.<\/p>

Read more This World Cup will be bigger, longer, hotter. Will it be better?<\/a><\/p>\n

In a post on Facebook, Matt Smith questioned what Alphonsi knows \u201cabout men\u2019s rugby\u201d while she was working as a TV pundit for the men\u2019s Six Nations game between France and England in March.<\/p>\n

Smith, who represents Warwickshire RFU, was handed a seven-month ban by an independent disciplinary panel, a sanction that meant his RFU council privileges \u2014 including match tickets and travel expenses \u2014 were removed as well as access to RFU premises.<\/p>\n

He still held his voting rights and stayed on as a council member in the 62-person governing body, however, and Alphonsi called for him to be replaced, saying there was \u201cno room for sexism, misogyny, or any form of discrimination in our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Warwickshire RFU said in a statement that Smith has quit \u201cin light of a recent disciplinary process.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Why is Brendan Sorsby still eligible after gambling? What to know after QB wins injunction vs. NCAA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise that this situation has raised important concerns and as a constituent body, we want to be clear that we take issues of sexism and misogyny seriously,\u201d it said. \u201cCreating a respectful, inclusive environment across our game remains a priority for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alphonsi won 74 caps, seven Six Nations titles, and the World Cup with England in 2014 before retiring that year.<\/p>\n

She was honored by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for services to rugby and inducted into World Rugby\u2019s Hall of Fame in 2016 \u2014 with the world body describing her as the \u201cFirst Lady\u201d of English women\u2019s rugby.<\/p>\n

Alphonsi first commentated on men\u2019s international rugby when she was signed up by broadcaster ITV for the Rugby World Cup in 2015.<\/p>

Read more From tennis to T-ball, the White House\u2019s South Lawn is no stranger to sports. But not like the UFC<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP rugby: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/rugby<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A council member for England\u2019s Rugby Football Union has resigned after making discriminatory comments on social media about Maggie Alphonsi, a Women\u2019s World Cup-winning former England star<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nEnglish rugby official resigns after discriminatory post about Women's World Cup winner Alphonsi - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3323\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"English rugby official resigns after discriminatory post about Women's World Cup winner Alphonsi - 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